The Villages Retirement Community In Lake County Was The Busiest Development In The Region.

The region posted 4,294 single-family home closings in the second quarter, almost even with the 4,322 sales in the same quarter a year ago, said Anthony Crocco, Orlando division director for MetroStudy Corp.

New-home starts fell 14.1 percent in the second quarter, Crocco said, but that decline followed a surge of more than 16 percent during the first quarter, when home builders rushed to beat the March 1 effective date of a new, statewide building code.

Through the first six months of the year, MetroStudy recorded 8,482 starts in Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola and northeast Polk counties, down less than half a percent from last year's six-month total of 8,528 permits.

The new building code, designed to raise hurricane-protection standards and bring uniformity to a patchwork of local codes, has caused "significant permitting delays in a number of counties and municipalities," said Crocco, whose Houston-based company analyzes housing markets nationwide.

The Villages retirement community in northwest Lake County was the busiest residential development in the region as measured by new-home starts for the 12 months that ended June 30. It recorded 2,137 groundbreakings. Avalon Park, in east Orange County, was a distant second with 334 starts.

The area's single-family home inventory -- units under construction plus those finished and vacant or serving as models -- totaled 8,221 units at the end of the second quarter -- about a 5.6-month supply at an annualized sales rate of 17,461 units, Crocco said.

While there is little concern about overbuilding in the Orlando market, "a few submarkets and specific price ranges are beginning to demonstrate an excessive level of finished and vacant homes," he warned.

Crocco said builders should monitor the area's job growth. Orlando's job base actually shrunk during the past year, by an estimated 8,300 positions, he noted, though the unemployment rate at the end of the second quarter -- 5.2 percent -- was still below both the state and national rates.

Job growth remains a concern that could affect the long-term health of the housing market, Crocco said.

"Interest rates most likely will remain low for the balance of this year, supporting the housing market," he said. "However, without job growth, the outlook for 2003 is less certain."

Builders, meanwhile, are increasingly concerned about rising premiums for general liability insurance, due largely to a surge in lawsuits over construction defects.

The National Association of Home Builders is urging its members to push for state legislation that would give a builder the chance to address alleged defects before a homeowner could sue.

Ian Smith, spokesman for the Florida Home Builders Association, said the trade group has been discussing rising insurance costs but is not proposing such legislation at this point.

Smith said he has been unable to pinpoint how big a problem defect suits really are. He said he knew of one South Florida builder who faced multiple defect suits over plumbing leaks, and several others across the state facing litigation over mold-causing moisture.